It’s highly unlikely that you missed the biggest showstopper of them all last night, which was the mistaken name called for the Best Picture award at the Oscars. Where the presenters should have gracefully pronounced Moonlight, the words La La Land tumbled out instead.
Yes, sure, this may have been a simple blunder- a slight case of word vomit; but that doesn’t take away from this unfortunate case of Steve Harvey Syndrom. Moonlight was the underdog everyone wanted to win but was certain to dissipate under the spotlight of the appraised film about white people finding jazz- in Hollywood. La La Land was practically written for success, and whether we like it or not, it was destined to win. So, in some strange turn of event, you’re telling me that The Academy finally came to its senses and finally recognized black art for the beauty that it is and the presenters just happened to call the wrong name.
This unprecedented stumble practically yells the unvoiced opinions and true feelings of Hollywood from the rooftops. “Yea you won, but we all know who really should have taken home the award.” The presenters knew in their heads who should have walked up on that stage before they even showed up at the venue. No one expected Moonlight to bring home this wonderful glory, and this point was emphasized the moment Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway said the name of the wrong movie.
This blunder heightens the success story of the black indie film, but not before providing a brutal reality check. Not only did this mistake bring the cast and crew of La La Land’s hopes up and then plummet them in a matter of seconds, but it provides a slap in the face to Moonlight. Although this result was unintentional it takes away from this black films amazing win. You can’t present an animal with what it could have before taking it away and giving the animal something else without its thoughts wandering to what could have been. While the praise for Moonlight was abundant last night, there were still those who held back on the claps in respect of the cast of the tormented losers that remained on a stage for a taunting five seconds.
It added pity where there should merely have been pure joy, and it makes people wonder even more about what could have been. This blunder added another party into what should have been a private celebration of black excellence.
